College 'breaks law promoting rally for Democrat'

(CAMPUSREFORM) — A public university in New York violated federal election laws by sending out an email promoting a campaign rally for Democratic congressional incumbent Rep. Tim Bishop (N.Y.) and former-President Bill Clinton, an elections lawyer told Campus Reform on Monday.

The email, obtained by Campus Reform, went out to the entire student body urging them to sign up for the Wednesday event using their school-issued email addresses. It was “[p]aid for by the New York Democratic Committee,” according to its signature, and also appears to violate the school’s long-standing policy against using resources to aid political candidates or causes, according to the school’s College Republican chapter.

“They are in violation of this section of the law because they are not supposed to show favoritism under the federal campaign finance laws.” — Cleta Mitchell, political law attorney

Cleta Mitchell, a political law attorney with Foley & Lardner LLP, examined the email on Monday and recommended the College Republicans group file a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission against both the university and Bishop’s campaign.